Flashcards on Ethical Analysis of Euthanasia
Ethical Analysis of Euthanasia: Voluntary, Non-Voluntary, Involuntary
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Euthanasia
41 cards
Card 1
Question: What is the main ethical distinction between voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia discussed in the text?
Answer: Voluntary euthanasia involves a competent patient's genuine request to die and is argued to have a stronger ethical case than non-voluntary euthanasia
Card 2
Question: What concern do opponents raise about requests for voluntary euthanasia even if the ethical principle seems valid?
Answer: They argue we can never be sure a request is the result of a free and rational decision due to possible pressure from relatives, falsification, or the
Card 3
Question: List the Dutch court guidelines that aim to prevent abuse of voluntary euthanasia.
Answer: Euthanasia is acceptable only if: it is carried out by a physician; the patient has explicitly requested it with no doubt about desire to die; the dec
Card 4
Question: How have the Dutch guidelines affected the likelihood of murder disguised as euthanasia, according to the text?
Answer: The guidelines make murder in the guise of euthanasia rather far-fetched, and there is no evidence of an increase in the murder rate in the Netherland
Card 5
Question: Why is the possibility that doctors may be mistaken not considered a decisive argument against legalising voluntary euthanasia?
Answer: Because the risk involves only a very small number of unnecessary deaths compared with the large amount of pain and distress avoided for many truly te
Card 6
Question: What principle is invoked to justify choosing euthanasia despite a small chance of recovery?
Answer: Deciding on the balance of probabilities — using probability as the guide of life and death — where one may rationally give up a slight chance of surv
Card 7
Question: What counterargument is made that improved care might make voluntary euthanasia unnecessary?
Answer: Some claim improved terminal care has eliminated pain and that, with personal attention and proper medication, patients accept death and do not reques
Card 8
Question: What limitation does the text place on the claim that improved care removes the need for euthanasia?
Answer: The text concedes Kubler-Ross may be right and pain may be eliminable in many cases, but does not assert this universally; the claim is presented as a
Card 9
Question: According to the text, when do lives have no intrinsic value with respect to euthanasia considerations?
Answer: When individuals have no experiences at all and can never have any again (biologically alive but not biographically).
Card 10
Question: What thought experiment does the author use to question the value of survival in a comatose state?
Answer: Choosing between (a) instant death and (b) instant coma followed by death without recovery in ten years; the author sees no advantage in survival in a